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CAN cautions Senate against inclusion of religious practices into constitution
By Modupe Shodeinde
The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev Samson Ayokunle, has cautioned the Senate against bringing injunctions and practices of any religions in the country into the constitution.
Ayokunle said this while speaking with journalists on Thursday on the sidelines of the valedictory service held for him as the Visitor to Bowen University, Iwo; Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomoso; and nine other theological institutions of the Nigerian Baptist Convention.
He noted that Nigeria is a secular state and its secularity must be maintained and enshrined in the constitution.
The Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Constitution Review is holding public hearings on introducing Sharia in different zones in the country.
Ayokunle said, “The amendment to the constitution is the way forward if the right things are done. If the public hearing is not just being done to fulfil all righteousness, if there is sincerity and if the lawmakers are ready and willing to take the contributions of the people seriously, then it will be beneficial to the people.
“They must not be seen to be promoting ethnicity or religion in it. It should be done with sincerity and fairness to all. If Nigeria is a secular state, let the secularity be reflected in our constitution. We must do away with the dual-constitution that we are using now, where religious injunctions and practices are brought into the constitution.
“The question is: how many religious injunctions and practices are you going to bring into the legal document? When you bring one and you neglect the others, you are still putting the nation on heat because it will continue to generate a crises.”
